Commas

Commas

Poll

I know exactly how to use commas in all situtations.

• Strongly Agree

• Agree

• Kinda Sorta

• Disagree

• Strongly Disagree

Cities and states

Use a comma to separate a city from its state. If the sentence continues, put a comma after the state as well.

Multiple Choice

My friend Kaz is from Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to Denver, Colorado, in September. Over the summer, Kaz took a trip with his parents to Orlando, Florida, and Atlanta Georgia, where he visited his cousins and grandmother. Kaz loves to travel all around the United States.

Which of the following edits corrects the comma mistake in the passage above?

• Delete the comma between “Providence” and “Rhode Island”

• Add a comma between “United” and “States”

• Delete the comma between “Orlando” and “Florida”

• Add a comma between “Atlanta” and “Georgia”

Days & Years

Use a comma in between the day and year when writing the full date.

Multiple Choice

Deyonna was born on March 13 2002. She lived in Santa Fe until she turned 12 in 2016. On August 1, she moved with her family to Michigan. It was a big move, and Deyonna was very nervous for her first day of school on September 2, 2016. When the day finally came, Deyonna was happily surprised at how friendly her new classmates were.

Which of the following edits corrects the comma mistake in the passage above?

• Delete the comma between “September 2” and “2016”

• Add a comma between “March 13” and “2002”

• Add a comma between “in” and “2016”

• Add a comma between “August” and 1”

Commas in a list

When writing a list of three or more items, place a comma in between each item on the list. A comma is not needed before the word “and” when it introduces the final item on the list, but it is not incorrect. This optional comma is called a "serial comma" or an "Oxford comma."

Multiple Choice

Federica cooked the following four foods: turkey tamales enchiladas and flan.

Identify the correct way to punctuate the underlined phrase in the sentence above.

• turkey, tamales enchiladas and flan.

• a turkey tamales enchiladas and flan.

• a turkey tamales enchiladas, and flan.

• a turkey, tamales, enchiladas and flan.

Dependent Clauses

When you have a dependent clause at the beginning of a sentence, you should set it off with a comma. If you're having trouble figuring out where the dependent clause ends, read the sentence out loud. The comma goes where you naturally pause.

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentence.

While I was finishing the pizza the waiter brought out the birthday cake.

In the sentence above, there should be a comma...

• between “pizza” and “the.”

• between “brought” and “out.”

• between “I” and “was.”

• between “birthday” and “cake.”

Independent Clauses

When you connect two independent clauses, put a comma and a conjunction in the middle. You can choose from the following conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so.

Multiple Choice

Read the following sentence.

I wanted to say goodbye yet I was too shy to speak.

In the sentence above, there should be a comma...

• between “say” and “goodbye.”

• between “wanted” and “to.”

• between “too” and “shy.”

• between “goodbye” and “yet.”